Life Span
by Storm Elf
Summary: For over 400 years, Envy had been content in the knowledge that he will live forever, but why is he getting tired afer useing his powers? Yaoi or not, depending on how you look at it.
1. Chapter 1

Spoilers: Not if you have been keeping up with Cartoon Network

Alternate Universe: Yep. Here are the specs for it: Al is not a philosopher's stone, Ed is still wanted by the military, Ed/Al's dearest daddy is still in this world (and so is Ed for that matter) Other than that, I think things work out alright.

Warnings: I haven't decided yet, but I'm thinking there will be some yaoi in later chapters. Either way, this chapter is free of it.

Disclaimer: I think you know this one by now…by definition, if I owned FMA, it would be impossible to write FANfiction for it. Plus it would be written in Japanese.

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In the back room if one of the lesser military libraries dedicated to alchemy, one person searched through the files. A dim flashlight was the only illumination he had, any more light and he would risk discovery. The room was small, only a closet really, and the files had a thin layer of dust, a clear sign that they had not been looked at in years. This was the third night he had searched through that room, looking for tiny scraps of information. Officially, the records that he looked for had been destroyed, but first hand experience told him that the military's records were not always correct. If those files would be hidden anywhere, this would be the location. 

Footsteps echoed through the hall outside. They came to a stop in front of the store room. There was no use in turning off the flashlight; the person outside the door already knew he was here. The tiny room offered nowhere to hide and not enough room to stage a fight. He tensed as he heard the sound of the door unlocking. The door swung open to reveal a large figure blocking the door. The large figure switched on the room's light.

"What are you doing here, Envy?" The large figure, now recognizable as Pride, asked.

"I'm surprised you recognized me, normally only Dante can do that when I am in disguise. What gave me away? It has to be pretty obvious for someone as dense as you to figure me out."

"You didn't bother to change your face." He answered flatly, he knew better than to insult Envy or allow the elder homunculus to get under his skin. He had both seen and felt the effects of Envy's rage and had no desire for a repeat performance. "Tell me, what are you looking for in there?"

"Your job is to make the military do whatever we want, not to watch my every move. If you have any interest in keeping that job, you will keep your mouth shut, understood?" Envy grabbed one file off of the top of the cabinet and pushed out of the room. He did not have the file that he needed, but he had separated this one out earlier because the information was somewhat relevant.

Pride watched him walk down the hallway until he was out of sight. After the elder homunculus had turned the corner, Pride closed and locked the door behind him. He wanted to know what file Envy had taken but was not brave enough to ask him. With a deep sigh, he turned and headed for his office.

He knew that Sloth would still be hard at work looking over the written tests for the state alchemy exams and notes on what they had said during the interviews. They were looking to see who would be the most likely to produce the stone, once they found that person they would ensure that they received their certification. It was the same process that had gotten Edward Elric his pocket watch.

"Sloth," he said calmly as he walked in the room. "I need you to get the index of the files stored in storage room A-14, find out which one is missing. I need to make a phone call."

Envy's behavior did not make sense, if he had wanted the file he would have simply asked Pride or Sloth to get it for him. There was no need for him to every sneak around the military, unless Dante had forbidden him to find that file. The very idea that Envy was starting to turn against them made him shutter as he picked up the phone. One quick call should be able to clear it up, hopefully.

Envy hurried through the back streets of central, military uniform still on. He knew that this was not the best place to be caught in that, but he did not have a choice. The only thing that he could to was hurry to his hideaway.

His hideaway was an old apartment building in the less traveled areas of central. Local lore said that one of the rooms in it was haunted. Every person who tried to rent it was frightened away by a sickly looking creature that did not respond to pain the way that normal people did. Eventually the owner of the building stopped trying to rent it and allowed the room to fall into disrepair. Envy was proud of his accomplishments.

The apartment was well furnished, but not well maintained. Many people had simply left their possessions in the room when they fled, leaving Envy enough items to make it look like a normal apartment if he ever desired. Naturally, most of them were still in their boxes. He preferred to stack them up rather than open them and find out what they held, he had no use for most of the things inside anyway.

Tonight two of those boxes acted as a table for Envy to spread out the contence of the file over the cardboard. Over twenty of written documents were accompanied by many photographs. The documents were of little interest to Envy, but the photographs were what he was looking for. He gathered them up and slowly went through them, examining them one by one. They showed the inside of a house that he vaguely remembered. It was not an exceptionally large house, just big enough for the two people who lived there. The big draw to the house had been the large basement, which had been converted into an alchemic lab.

His hands froze when he got to the final photograph. He just looked at it, taking in every detail. A boy, probably in his late teens, was lying in bed. Just from the look on his face Envy could tell that he was dead. His eyes were open and empty, his skin was sickly pale, and a small amount of blood had dribbled from his mouth. His blonde hair was splayed on the pillow behind him and a blanket was pulled up to his neck.

Envy traced those features with his fingers, memorizing every feature of this boy. He didn't have to read the report to know what he had died from, he knew that all too well. He knew a lot about the boy. His name was Edward Elric, he had been the first child of Hohenheim of Light, and there was now another that carried his name. He had died of accidental mercury poisoning when he was 18, and his father had attempted to bring him back to life.

Photograph in hand, Envy moved into the bedroom. There, covered in a sheet, a full length mirror sat in the corner. Ever since the incident with Hughes, Envy had used it every time he transformed into a person for the first time. This time he watched as he transformed into what he had originally looked like. Somehow, he felt more comfortable in this body, it was difficult to explain. It just felt right.

He felt a familiar weariness creep into him, he had been fighting it off for several days now. It seemed to come after every time he changed his form. He sank down to the floor, trying to focus on the world around him, not allowing the blackness that was forming around the edges of his vision to take over. Until recently, he had been able to change from shape to shape as much as he wanted and never feel anything.

It first it had been minor, he felt lightheaded if he transformed several times in a row. Now only change left him on the ground, unable to stand for several minutes.

Pride hung up the phone and looked for something to kick. He had called Dante to tell her about Envy's strange behavior. He worried that Envy's loyalties could be changing, but Dante refused to even think about that. In his opinion, she trusted the homunculus too much. Envy was possibly the most dangerous among them. He could change what he looked like, infiltrate any attempt at security. If he decided to go against them, Pride did not know how he could defend himself. Envy knew where Dante stored the remains of all of the other homunculi, he could destroy them if he wanted to.

Sloth stepped back into the office, carrying the notebook with the indexes for storage rooms A-12 through A-16. "There were three files missing. One is about a small town's attempt to use alchemy to fight off the military, the second is a list of who applied for state certification and who received it for a certain year, and the other one is about the alchemy related death of an 18 year old."

"Thank you." Pride muttered, not understanding the connection. He had only seen Envy take one file, the two other ones must have been missing beforehand. In any given storeroom there were several files that were not accounted for.

"Is something wrong?" for a moment it seemed as though Sloth cared, but Pride pushed those thoughts out of his head. Homunculi cared for no one but themselves.

"I want you and Wrath to avoid Envy until I figure out just what he is up to."

"Do you really think he would attack us?"

"I can't say. He has been loyal to Dante since his creation, but many things have happened lately, who's to say that someone hasn't made him a better offer. Just keep away from him." With that, Pride left his office to go home and see his family. Even though he did not truly care for them, he had to keep up appearances and his wife was already beginning to suspect that he was having an affair with his secretary.

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If you do feel like sending a review, please make it worth your time to write. Since most everyone on this site is an author, I think that you can come up with something more intelligible than "OOOH! ME LIKE! UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!" And if you don't like it, please tell me. It is sometimes more useful to find out what people did not like so that I know the areas to work on. I have very thick skin, your remarks will not hurt me, so even if you liked it overall, but one little thing bothered you, tell me. Thank you for taking your time to read the story and thank you for reading the little blurb here. 


	2. Chapter 2

Hey look, I got off my ass and updated….amazing.

No warnings for this chapter, just enjoy.

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Envy pulled himself up off of the floor and sat on a box. His head was still spinning from the recent transformation. Whatever was wrong with him, he needed help. His first option was Dante, his master and birthmother, but that was quickly ruled out. She had even less compassion than him. At even a hint that one of the homunculi was weakening, she ordered them dead. One of the previous Prides had shown too much compassion, Dante labeled it to be a sign of weakness and he was slaughtered the next day.

The only one who could possibly know what was wrong with him, maybe even fix it, was Hohenheim. The idea of returning to him made Envy gag, he would rather give up his un-ending life than do that. The alchemist that he helped to control, those working on the stone, were too likely to give away his secret. There was only one person left who was experienced enough to help him. As much as it sickened him, it was the only option he had.

The next day Envy climbed on a train headed to a small town in the middle of nowhere. He used a body of his own concoction, one that could blend in very well. He was a person of normal height, brown hair, brown eyes, a boring face, wearing a nice suit, but not nice enough to attract attention. He looked like someone going to a job interview perhaps.

Although he hid his nature very well, he had trouble hiding his disgust. He hated trains, but not because of the noise or even the uncomfortable seats. He hated them because of the people. There were always so many, so close, so stupid and useless. Today, however, he didn't notice them as much. He was so focused on his own problems that he tuned out everything around him. Before he knew it, he was getting off of the train.

The area around him was familiar, he had spied on all of Hohenheim's spawn over the years. Ed and Al were the only two children that he stayed with for more than a year and the only two that Envy had allowed to live. If it had not been for their interest in alchemy, they would have been killed as well. Strangely enough, all of Hohenheim's children were boys, he seemed incapable of producing a girl.

* * *

Miles away in a small house, Winry was fixing breakfast for Edward. Since he was hiding under the floor, he could not see what she was doing and didn't catch her adding milk to the eggs. She had just finished the scrambled eggs when a firm knock on the door caught her attention. Placing the eggs on a plate, she opened the door.

Envy was standing there, still looking like someone going to a job interview. He took off his hat and stepped inside.

"Winry Rockbell, right?" He asked as though he didn't know who she was. He knew her very well from when he had spied on Ed and Al.

"Yes. Is there something I can help you with? Automail perhaps?" She looked at him strangely. Behind her, Den had begun to growl deep in his throat.

"Smart dog," Envy muttered before turning his attention back to Winry, "I'm here to see Edward and Alphonse. Don't bother lying to me, I know that they are here."

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen them. If you tell me your name, I'll tell them that you were looking for them next time I see them." Winry felt uncomfortable with this stranger, but she tried not to show it. If Den didn't like him, there had to be a reason.

"I need to see them now. Go in the basement and tell them that their half brother is here to see them." Envy looked at the shocked expression on her face. "Yes, that's right, the basement. Are you surprised that I know where you are hiding them?"

From the other side of the room, a door opened up from the floor. Ed climbed out but Al stayed behind. He looked the stranger over and took a few steps forward.

"Who are you?" he asked, baffled.

"I can be whoever you want me to be, Fullmini" Envy's lips contorted into an evil smile as a look of shock and horror came over Ed's face.

"Winry, get out of here! He's a homunculus!" Ed shouted at her. Envy made no attempt to stop her from leaving the room. Instead, he sat down on a chair and changed his form. He had found that if he sat he was better able to stay awake. Also, from studying himself in the mirror, he found that he did not look like he was losing control.

"Why are you here? To try to convince us to use the damned stone?" Ed shouted. If Envy's head had not been swimming, Edward would have received a firm slap across that loud mouth of his.

"Hardly. I'm here of my own free will, nothing to do with the bitch. I have a deal to make with you." Envy leaned his chair back on two legs, trying to look non-threatening, which was very difficult for him. The only thing more difficult was to not call Ed "pipsqueak" at every opportunity.

"Give me one reason why I should trust you," Ed growled.

"For starters, I don't need your trust, I need your cooperation. If you really want to trust me though, consider the fact that I know where you are hiding and the military doesn't."

"So its blackmail then, help you or you'll tell them." Ed sneered.

"Nope, wrong again. I'm offering to help you in return. Equivalent exchange, right? You do a little research for me, I give you a safe place to stay and tell you where you can find the remains of the rest of the homunculi. Sound like a fair deal?" Envy stood up and went over to where Al was still hiding. "Your brother can come along as well. He might be useful when it comes to doing the research."

"Something tells me that you aren't looking for a science fair project. What do you want us to study? The philosopher's stone?" Ed shouted back.

"Will you give up that obsession with the stone, I already told you that this has nothing to do with her. There are two theories that I want you to study, Alchemic Decomposition and Time Element." Envy slouched back down in the chair.

Ed just stood there for a moment. Those were old theories that very few people even knew about, let alone studied. Alchemic Decomposition was the theory that things created by alchemy sometimes returned to their natural state over time. It was one of the theories that Isbalans used to prove that their god did not like alchemy. Time Element was the idea that some reactions needed time to take effect. If you were trying to create a book case, it might take a day for it to really look like a book case. Overall, that theory was rejected by most alchemists because it did not take a day for it to look like a book case.

"Why do you want me to study those?" Ed asked, his confusion taking over his anger.

"That doesn't matter. I just want you to."

"Time Element is mostly found in the creation of a homunculus." Ed pointed out.

"Yeah, I know. I'm clearly not interested in creating another damned creature, there are no humans that are worth the effort of bringing back to life. Can we just get on with this?" Envy was beginning to get annoyed, he did not want to put up with this but he needed Ed's help.

"Brother," Al spoke up from the basement, "If we don't go with him, what are we going to do? We can't stay here."

Ed looked down at his younger brother. The gigantic suit of armor hardly fit in the basement. Staying here meant forcing his brother to be uncomfortable, something he hated doing.

"There is a place where we won't be disturbed. You can stay there as long as you like, even after you finish the research. All the books you should need will be there, all of the equipment too." Envy was now standing next to Ed, looking down at Al. "The ceilings are high, so are the doorways. The rooms are large enough that he won't have trouble getting around."

"Alright, I'll go. But first, how do I know that you aren't going to turn me in?"

"Because I need you to do that research."

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Thank you to those kind people who reviewed, also, thank you to the kind people who put this story on their story alerts list but didn't review. I guess they like it but they don't want people to know.

As for Envy being a uke, unless major changes happen in my writing ability, there wont be enough information to figure out who ends up on top. The scene will just sorta fade out before that happens. (Unless I magicly learn to write lemons, in which case there will be a link to a site where you can find out everything you want to know, possibly more)

Ok people, you know the drill. Please say something semi-intelligent, feel free to tell me if something is wrong with the story, and um…well, have fun.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks to those who reviewed, thanks to those who read it but didnt want people to know. I would have gotten this up sooner, but I was spending time with my boyfriend so this wasnt exactly the first thing on my mind. (hey, at least i updated eventually though) I'm still going to try to update it once a week but things are picking up at work so I have to actually work.

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Dante strolled through the empty alleys in the abandoned city, walking towards a large building that had once been a very nice hotel. It stood only three blocks away from the center of the town and had been very popular before the demise of the area. She also knew that it was one of Envy's favorite places to stay in when he was not out doing his job. She hoped to find him there, yet doubted that she would.

It was not that the call from Pride had worried her, she knew better than to think that Envy would go against her will. Now and again he would go off on his own, but those adventures were short lived and he always came back in the end. If she tried to keep him on a short leash he would undoubtedly lash out at her. Instead, she allowed him to do as he pleased as long as it did not endanger their mission.

Even though she trusted him to a degree, she did want to know what he was up to. Perhaps she would even help. The simplest way to find out what was going on in that head of his would be to look around that hotel. If she asked him then he would only get annoyed. If she poked around in his things, she was certain to discover what she wanted. That homunculus never had been good at hiding his tracks. He had improved as of late, but she was certain that she could uncover it.

Envy grumbled as he got on the train. Once again, he was using the boring body guaranteed to blend in anywhere. To prevent him from being recognized, Winry had put all of Ed's hair up under a hat. The familiar red robe was shoved in a suitcase, replaced by a boring brown one. Since there was no good way to disguise Al, he was forced to ride in a luggage crate again. This time Ed checked on him at every stop the train made.

"I still don't get what you're up to." Ed hissed under his breath.

"I don't care if you understand or not, just as long as you do the research." Envy sighed, trying to ignore everything around him.

"All I want to know is why. Why these theories? Both of them have been discredited, why do you want to know more about them?" Ed growled, trying to remember that they were in a public place.

Envy chose not to answer. He was still fighting off a lingering weariness that made the world a little fuzzy, that alone put him in a bad mood. It had been bothering him ever since his last change. Although he tried to pass it off as nothing, he knew that it was serious. If either of those two theories that Ed would be researching applied to him, he would not live for very long.

A calmness that he had never experienced came over Envy as he listened to the repetitive sounds of the train and felt the soft rocking. All stress just seemed to disappear and he was left in a beautiful darkness, free from reality and restriction. He stayed like that for an untold amount of time before something began to drag him away. Slowly, he became more aware of his surroundings, he heard a baby cry on the other side of the train. He opened his eyes to see that it was dark out, it had been light when they left.

"We're almost at the station you said we were getting off at." Ed muttered. Envy had not noticed him standing there until then.

"What happened?" Envy blinked a few times, still groggy.

"You fell asleep dumb ass, what do you think?" Ed spat back. Envy didn't feel like mentioning that homunculi didn't sleep.

After getting Al off of the train and out of the box, Envy lead them out of town. They kept to the back streets where they would not be noticed. People stood on fire escapes and crowded in dark corners, too wrapped up in their own criminal records to care about anyone else's. They took those back roads until they reached the end of town, a surprisingly dramatic shift from urban to forest. From there they took dirt trails, some of which had overgrown, but Envy knew exactly where every one of them lead.

It was almost daybreak when they reached a clearing, well, what had been a clearing at one point. In the middle of it stood a house, not particularly large, but large enough for them to live in comfortably. It showed the same wear and tear of time as the dirt paths that they had taken. Multiflora rose clung to one side of the house, sharp thorns and small flowers shone in the early light of the new day. A tree had fallen too close to one of the sides and knocked all of the glass out of one of the windows. Squirrels and other woodland creatures used it as a door, hiding in the house when it rained.

Envy examined every bit of the house, comparing it to his memories. Yes, this was the place he was created, the lab of Hohenheim, shoved so far back in the woods that he wouldn't have to worry about nosy neighbors discovering his work. He hated this place.

Inside was almost as bad as the outside. Dust covers had once sat on the furniture, but they were eaten through by mice or had been blown off by the wind coming through the broken window. Ed groaned, fully exhausted. After spending all night walking he had hoped for a nice little country house with a maid and maybe some dinner. If nothing else, he had expected a good bed. With a deep sigh, he clapped his hands together and got to work.

Dante read through the papers scattered about Envy's favorite room. They were old notes about missions that she had sent him on. She saw a map of Lior with stars drawn over the important areas, a list of who was considered to be dangerous in the military. Several names were crossed out, signaling that there was no need to worry about them anymore. There seemed to be nothing out of place. She had expected to find a smoking gun, several books about one topic, maybe even the file that Envy had taken, but there was nothing there.

"Perhaps you are better at covering your tracks now. I'm glad that phone booth incident taught you something." Dante said to the empty room.

With nothing better to do, she left the room and began to walk towards her own residence. She was still not worried about Envy, he always returned to her. She knew that Pride would not be happy with her decision, but she didn't care. He was nothing more than a pawn, he would not be alive for too much longer anyway. His public position in the military guaranteed that people would notice if he lived an exceptionally long life.

It didn't matter how well Envy covered his tracks, she would find out what he was up to when he came back to her.

"We're going to need some supplies," Ed noted, looking at the empty cabinets. His voice was weak with exhaustion, it would only be a few more minutes until he passed out.

"Right," Envy muttered, "You sleep, I'll get food."

"Al, I want you to go with him." Ed looked at his brother, he knew that there was no other way. He still did not trust Envy, the homunculus could just abandon them there to die and then take Al away once Ed was no longer alive.

Al nodded and looked down at the homunculus sitting next to him. Envy had not yet changed out of his boring form that could blend in. He was looking bored and disinterested, but what else had Al expected.

Ed began to walk into one of the bedrooms only to be kicked to the floor. Envy was standing over top of him, glaring down.

"That is not your room, its mine! You take _his _room." Envy hissed, pointing to another door. Ed didn't understand why he was getting so possessive but figured that it had something to do with not having a soul. It was better not to question some things, so without saying anything else, Ed went into the other room and fell asleep before his head touched the pillow.

Ok, your done. you know the drill. If you want to admit that you read this shit, please review and let the world know. The same thing applies that i said in the first chapter, try to say something intellegent.


	4. Chapter 4

Ooh, look what I found, an update….about time…..

You'll notice some improvments over the last chapter. The lines seperating the author's notes and when the story randomly changes to different people have returned.

* * *

Envy looked down at the scrap of paper in his hand. He and Al had sat down and thought of everything that Ed might need, from food to paper and pencils. They had been worried that they would forget once they got to town so they wrote them down. It would be expensive, but Envy had made sure to grab a good amount of cash from Dante's bank account before he skipped town.

The list seemed to go on forever and the more things they bought the longer the list seemed to get. Al was kind enough to hold most of the packages, some of which ended up shoved in his armor.

"Hey, Envy," Al spoke up after some time, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, now shut up." Envy hissed. He felt weaker than normal, but he wasn't sure why.

"Maybe we should rest for a bit, you look tired." Al moved toward a bench and sat down, waiting for Envy to follow his lead.

"Homonculi don't get tired." Envy said before sliding down on the bench next to Al. He suddenly felt better, not that he was willing to admit it.

* * *

Ed grumbled and rolled over in his bed, forcing himself to wake up. He wanted to look around some, learn more about this strange house. The room he was most interested in was the room where Envy had not allowed him to go in. His sleep deprived brain slowly remembered that he had not even cleaned that room, so there must be something in there that Envy was trying to hide. The most obvious answer was that Envy's remains were in there.

After a moment of picking the simple lock on the door. Ed was in the room. There was not nearly as much dust as he had expected, it looked as though someone had cleaned it just last week. The room looked old, everything from the rope bed to the books in the bookcase seemed much older than any of the libraries he had read through. Some of the leather binding had cracked open, exposing the yellowed paper beneath it. Hopefully this was not the extensive library that Envy had promised them.

Over all, there seemed like there was nothing too special about this room, it was pretty much the same as the other bedroom, the only difference was what sat on the shelves. Over the bed there was a small self that Ed had overlooked. Unlike the rest of this room, the shelf was covered in dust. All sorts of things were on it, old letters still in their envelopes, framed photographs, and other such things usually found on a shelf.

Ed left the room disappointed. He had expected to find something amazing in there, a secret perhaps. Instead, it looked like just another bedroom. With a deep sigh, he returned to his own bedroom. He was still exhausted from all of the work that he had done, a short nap would do him some good.

* * *

"Envy, Envy wake up." Al said in a hushed voice as he shook Envy's shoulder. Although the homunculi had claimed he wasn't tired, he had fallen asleep sitting on the bench and had ended up leaning on Al. Envy's eyes opened slowly and he looked around him, almost in a daze. He was still partially asleep when he stood up.

"What happened?" he asked, still out of it. Memories of where he was came back to him and he looked down at the list in his hand. They had gotten the most important things first, the rest of the items could wait a day or two. "Al, lets go back."

"But why, we haven't gotten everything on the list. What if…"

"What if I'm not able to lead you back? Ever think about that? It wont matter if we have everything if we cant get back!" Envy shouted, not thinking about what he was saying.

"…What do you mean you cant lead me back?" Al asked, his voice expressing the worry that his face could not.

"Homunculi are immortal, we heal instantly, we never get tired, and we never sleep. Something is wrong with me and I don't know what. This is the second time I fell asleep lately, I might not wake up next time. If we don't get back now, I cant guarantee that we will be able to." Envy explained himself, keeping his eyes on the ground. He hated admitting his weaknesses, he had always despised it. If it had been anyone but Al, he wouldn't have said a word. Having watched him grow up, he felt like he knew him.

"That's what this is all about? Keeping you alive? You're going to sell out all of your friends just to help yourself?" Al yelled back, appalled by how self-centered Envy was.

"Do you mean my master or the other homunculi? I wouldn't count either of them as friends. All of the homunculi are alone, we have no need for friends."

Before Al could respond, Envy began to walk away, leading the way home. He really wanted nothing to do with this conversation. It didn't so much bother him that Al knew his life was on the line, Al was strangely loving, he couldn't really hurt anyone it seemed. His only real worry was that Al would tell his dear brother. Ed was a heartless bastard who would have no trouble killing him.

"Envy, wait up!" Al hurried after him.

Halfway through the woods, Al stopped in his tracks and stared at Envy.

Envy slowly turned around and gave him the most evil look that he could manage. "What?"

"Can I do something to help?"

"Huh?" Envy stopped in his tracks, confused. He wasn't sure why Al was offering to help him.

"You look like your about to be sick." Al muttered, not sure what to do.

"Shut up and leave me alone." Envy hissed back, knowing full well that he looked horrible. His head was swimming, his stomach churned, and he had to fight to keep all of his red stones where they belonged. "Shit…"

Envy's knees went out, making him fall to the forest floor. Al rushed over and put his arms around Envy, holding him up. Once he was certain that Envy wasn't going to get sick, he lifted him up and held him as though he were a child. Envy would have jumped away any other day, but today he could not.

"Can you walk?" Al asked, looking down at the pitiful creature in his arms.

"Not sure," Envy muttered, his head still swimming. "Just follow this path, it will take you back to the house."

* * *

Ok people, sorry about the long wait for the update and then producing this crappy little excuse for plot progression. It should have been longer, it should have been better written, it should have been more entertaining, but its this or no update at all. I am a full time collage student plus I work three jobs, what little free time I have is devoted to sleeping. I had planned on putting the finishing touches on it and posting it over the weekend but on Saturday I worked from 9AM to 9PM and then at my second job from 10:45 until one in the morning (and then 9-5 the next day). That is my excuse. It might not be a good one, but it's what I'm sticking with. I also started working on an original story, so that is taking up some time. Plus my good friend is bugging me to write a fanfic about My Chemical Romance. Those guys are so hot….I have to do it or she'll stop sending me pictures of them (photobucket hates my computer). If you want to read the MCR fic, email me. I'm not going to post it anywhere.

In short, I will try to update this as soon as I can, but I will not make any promises as far as the time. Sorry about the fact that the author's note is almost as long as the story…

Storm Elf, over and out.

PS: to all of you people who kept saying that the last chapter wasn't shit…thank you, but don't lie to me.


	5. Chapter 5

By the time Al got back to the house, Envy had stopped moving. Al couldn't tell if he had passed out, fallen asleep, or possibly even died. The lack of feeling from is armor body prevented him from telling the difference. He was almost in a state of panic when he got back to the house.

"Brother!" He called out as soon as the house was in sight.

Ed rushed out, fearing that something horrible had happened. He saw Al with the limp homunculus in his arms and froze. Realization rushed over him. Without Envy, they didn't have any way out of this home, he wouldn't be able to find his way back to the town.

"Take him inside, put him on the couch." Ed instructed, leading Al through the house.

As soon as Envy's body hit the couch, Ed pushed Al out of the way and began to examine him. He grabbed the homunculus's wrist, holding it between two fingers. He couldn't feel a pulse, but he wasn't sure that Envy ever had a pulse to begin with. As a second test, Ed grabbed a small mirror sitting on one of the side tables. He held it close to Envy's mouth. A small fog appeared on the mirror, causing Ed to relax.

"He's still breathing," Ed announced, sitting on the floor. "What happened to him?"

"I don't know, he just said that he felt really weak, and then he passed out. What's wrong with him?" Al asked, the worry in his voice was unmistakable.

"I wish I knew. Damn it, when he wakes up he is telling us everything! We cant have shit like this happening without knowing what is going on." Ed grumbled, smacking the homunculus to make his point.

"Brother, why don't you make something to eat, I'll watch him for a while." Al pulled most of the bags out of his torso and set them down next to Ed. "If he wakes up, I'll call you."

"Thanks, I'm starving." Ed smiled, dragging some of the bags into the kitchen. He wasn't a great cook, but he could make eatable food.

* * *

In a small study, a man leaned over his alchemy books, searching for something that he had missed. He was certain that he had everything right, but he wanted to me certain he understood.

A pounding on the door snapped him out of his trance. He walked over and opened the door with a grimace on his face. He knew exactly who it was before he even reached the doorknob, he could smell the perfume.

"Hello dear, something I can do for you?" Hohenheim asked, leaning on the doorframe. He had hoped that she didn't know where he was living, but it was a lost cause.

"What did you do to him?" Dante asked, ignoring Hohenheim's cocky attitude.

"What did I do to who?" He yawned, retreating into the room and sitting on the couch.

"Don't give me that, just tell me what you did to Envy." She slapped him as hard as she could, she couldn't stand that bastard.

"I haven't done anything to him in over 200 years, so don't blame it on me if your little puppy bit your hand. I told you right from the start not to trust him." He sighed, rubbing his sore cheek.

"Liar, you did something to him." She spat at him.

"Alright, ok, if you are going to blame me at least tell me what he did."

"I don't have to do anything," Dante grumbled, turning to leave.

Hohenheim sighed as she slammed the door. He closed his book and threw a coat on. There was a suitcase by the door, just waiting for any time he needed to leave home for a while. He grabbed that and his hat as he left. If Envy had left Dante's control, Hohenheim knew exactly where he would go.

* * *

Envy moaned, opening his eyes slowly. His body still felt heavy, but not as much as before. He grumbled and closed his eyes again. He tried to shut out the world around him, trying to slip into the warm embrace of sleep. Al's shouts prevented him from doing so.

"Envy, hey, Envy, get up." Ed's voice rang in his ears.

"Go away!" Envy muttered, not opening his eyes.

Ed smacked Envy as hard as he could with his automail arm. The sound of crunching bone sent shivers down his spine and he tried not to look at the homunculus's deformed face as it healed.

"Fine, I'm up. What do you want?" Envy opened up his eyes and pulled himself into a sitting position.

"Tell me exactly what is going on. You drag us out to this place, say you want us to do research, and then pass out!"

"Alright, ok. Here's the deal, I don't know what is going on either. For the past few months, I started getting weaker and weaker. I looked through some old notes that I found and came across two theories. The first is Time Element, which says that it might take some time for the alchemy to finish. So maybe the reason that I'm feeling weak is because I'm turning into a human. The other is Alchemic Decomposition which says that as time goes by, the structure that holds the transmuted substance together starts to fall apart."

"So you might be dieing?" Al finished for him.

"Yeah, that's the idea." Envy muttered to himself.

"Is that why you abandoned your master then?" Ed asked, not caring about the homunculi.

"Isn't it obvious?" Envy sneered, "And here I thought you two might be sympathetic, considering the repercussions and all."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ed asked, grabbing Envy's shirt and dragging him closer.

"Think about it. If I'm becoming human, that means that the other homunculi would also, which means…"

"I killed a human…" Ed whispered, flashing back to the fight with Greed.

"And if the alchemy is breaking down…" Envy left the rest of his sentence unfinished, looking over at Al.

* * *

yep, sort again, but at least it is an update. I am sorry about halfway abandoning this story for a while. dont get me wrong, I love this story and i hope to make it nice and long, but there are time issues. 


	6. Chapter 6

HOLY SHIT! An update!

(the line thing isnt working for my computer)

In the past month, very little had changed. Ed spent all of his time studying the ancient books while making very little progress. Because of the time lapse between when these theories had last been studied and current times they contained terms that were no longer used in place of ones that Ed understood.

Al, having little else to do, had taken to clearing out what used to be the yard. He pulled up thorny bushes with ease and would soon have enough area cleared that he and Ed could spar if they wanted to. He was proud of the work he had done, using alchemy to move trees instead of chopping them down. Once a week he used a lawnmower that Ed had transmuted for him to keep the grass down.

Envy, who was gradually getting more lethargic each day, split his time between wandering around the house and hovering over Ed's shoulder, demanding to know what progress he had made. He refused to admit that he was getting worse, but it was obvious that he was. Apart from lacking energy, he complained that his entire body was sore and he felt as though he was about to throw up most of the day. Never had he known pain like this since the day he had been reborn. He also slept every night, though he insisted that it was not natural for a homunculus to sleep. Ed had retorted that there was nothing natural about a homunculus to begin with.

"Brother, I'm going in town to get more supplies!" Al called out, one hand on the doorknob. He twisted it open and jumped when he saw someone standing on the opposite side, hand in the air and ready to knock on the door.

"Al, good to see you!" the newcomer smiled, stepping into the house. "You look well."

"Dad!" Al shrieked, throwing his arms around him.

In the laboratory, Envy and Ed both stopped what they were doing and ran to the door.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ed demanded to know, "Get the hell out!"

"No one asked for your help!" Envy sneered, ready to kill the man in front of him.

"It makes a father so proud to know his children love him," Hohenhime sighed, taking off his coat and hanging it on the coat rack.

"Who said you could stay?" Envy and Ed yelled at the same time, frightening Al.

"Well, this is my house." Hohenheim said in a very matter-of-fact way. "And, if I am not mistaken, you probably need my help."

"And why do you say that?" Envy demanded, taking another step forward.

"You left Dante and are hiding out with the one person you hate more than anyone else. That hardly sounds like something you would do willingly. Something is clearly wrong and, being a responsible father, I want to know what it is." Hohenheim moved to the couch, patting the seat next to him, "Now, tell me what is wrong."

Envy just looked at him, trying to decide if he was serious. He seemed serious, and Hohenheim wasn't the type to joke around, but could he actually expect Envy to go over there and talk to him? Envy stared blankly, unable to make up his mind.

"Since I first created you, I worried about what might happen. Since both the time element and decomposition theory were popular at the time, I had several books on them. Even after you left…"

"I left?" Envy questioned, taking a step closer, "You're the one who left! For the record, I'd rather die than have your help anyway! Besides, I already have Ed looking over those to theories."

"So," Hohenheim's smile widened as Envy realized he had given out more information than he had meant to, "You are sick."

Envy went to yell something at him, but he couldn't think of anything to say, so he closed his mouth, defeated. Ed just looked at the pair of them, not sure if he should do anything. Although he hated the man more than anyone, save Roy, the alchemy books were confusing and he did need some help.

"Envy, if there is anything that can be done to save you, I have a better chance of finding it. Ed, try though he might, he wont be able to. No two alchemists are the same, they all use slightly different methods. I created you, I know exactly which methods I used, Ed does not. I am staying and that is final." Hohenheim stood up from the couch and walked over to the door that led into the basement, "Are you coming Ed?"

"I guess we are going to need more supplies if he is going to stay here too." Al mumbled, heading out of the door, leaving Envy standing alone in the room. The homunculus sighed and moved over to the couch. He laid down for a moment, wondering just how Hohenheim had known that he was here to begin with.

"Envy," Hohenheim shook his shoulder, waking Envy from the nap that he hadn't realized he was taking. "I need to examine you."

If he had been more awake, Envy would have put up some sort of a fight, but he didn't feel up to it. He just felt weak. He didn't complain as Hohenheim poked and prodded him, taking his temperature and weighing him. Hohenheim also did other things that he didn't exactly understand, using alchemy on parts of his body and writing down the results on a piece of paper.

"Hmmm," he said, looking over the results. In reality, he had gained no information from an hour's worth of tests, but he figured that it would be good to keep track of things, such as weight, over time. "Envy, I need you to answer some questions for me."

"No." he grumbled, wishing that he could go back to sleep.

"First off," Hohenheim turned to a new piece of paper, ignoring Envy's response, "When did this first begin."

"A couple of months ago." He answered truthfully, apparently forgetting that he had refused to take part in this.

Hohnehim jotted something down on the paper and continued to ask him questions related to how he felt. He had already asked the same questions to Ed but he wanted to make sure that their answers matched up. Envy was a well known liar, but he doubted that he would be able to remember what he had told Ed in the state that he was in right now. When he looked over the information he was stunned to see that it all matched up. Either Envy was not as out of it as he had suspected or he had decided to tell the truth. Given who he was talking about, Hohenheim wasn't sure which possibility was more likely.

By the end of the questions, Envy's head was swimming. The world seemed to twist and turn with no rhyme or reason behind it. Hohenheim's voice seemed like it was coming from far away and, although he was answering every question asked to him, Envy did not understand anything that was going on.

"I need to stand," he announced so suddenly that both Hohenheim and Ed jumped a little in surprise. "I need to stand right now!"

The father and son looked at one another for a moment before turning back to Envy. They both pulled him to his feet, worried at how limp he felt in their hands. Without warning, the homunculus went into violent convulsions, causing Hohenheim to lose his grip. He was now fully in Ed's arms. Ed held him as best he could, careful not to allow him to injure himself. He didn't realize it until later when he felt how raw his throat was, but he screamed the entire time.

Al rushed in after hearing Ed's screams, getting there just in time to see Envy begin to quiet down and stop convulsing. He rushed over to help Ed, but his older brother refused to accept it.

When Envy opened his eyes again he was still in Ed's arms. Together, they sank down to the floor, Envy collapsing into Ed's lap. Several times the homunculus tried to say something, but it wouldn't come out.

"What's wrong?" Ed asked several times, pushing Envy's hair out of his face. The homunculus took several deep breaths before shoving Ed away, turning himself over in the process. His arms shaking from the exertion, he held himself off of the floor as the red stones spilled from his stomach.

In seconds Ed was there, holding his hair back with one hand, the other arm wrapped around Envy's chest, holding him up incase his arms should give out. Ed was screaming and crying, though he didn't understand why. Hohenheim and Al were on either side, waiting to help.

After the last stone fell to the ground, Envy relaxed some. The sick feeling that he had had for several days had lessened, though he still felt weak. A familiar darkness blurred the corners of his vision, there was no reason to fight it. Even if he had tried, he had not strength.

"Ed…" he managed to whisper before the darkness took hold.

(the line thing isnt working for my computer)

Well. I updated. For once, I don't think that this chapter is shit. It has plot progression, it has entertainment value, it is of decent length, and it has a horrible cliffhanger that will make everyone hate me. All in all, pretty damn good if I do say so myself. (it better be good after how long it took me to update!)

oh, please review and please check my bio for an update concerning this fanfic.


	7. Chapter 7

Hohenheim reached down and scooped Envy's limp body out of Ed's arms. He moved him carefully to the couch and laid him down, covering up most of his body with a blanket. Without a word, he turned to Ed.

"Is he…" Ed tried, not able to form words.

"He is resting." Hohenheim said quietly, calming Ed's nerves. "I'll get the mop and clean this up. You stay with him. Al, I want you to come with me"

Ed nodded and watched his father leave the room, his brother following along behind him. In a way, he was grateful that they were gone. He didn't want his brother to think that he was going soft, but he was very worried about the homunculus laid out on the couch before him.

"Envy," he whispered, taking the pale hand in his own, "I know that you cant hear me, but please pull through. Please wake up."

The words sounded like they were coming from a dream. Someone calling his name from far away. It was soft, no more than a soft whisper from across the room, but it was there. It was enough to call him away from the darkness, open his eyes.

"Full mini…" Envy said, unsure if his voice would work. "What…what happened?"

"You got sick, threw up all of the red stones." Ed told him, motioning to the mess not far from where they sat.

"oh…" Envy said, closing his eyes again, "that explains the smell then."

"Yeah, it is nasty. I'll go open a window."

"No, don't leave!" he gripped Ed's hand tighter, not letting him leave. Even Envy himself could not explain why he needed Ed there, but he refused to let him go.

"Alright, I'll stay, don't worry." Ed reassured him, slipping his hand out of the homunculus's grasp. "How are you feeling?"

"Weak, like I don't have any energy at all." Envy moaned, moving as little as he could. His eyes began to flutter closed, he was falling back asleep.

"We'll find something to make you better, you'll see." Ed whispered, silently promising himself to never let the homunculus in front of him die. A few weeks ago he would have given anything to have Envy laying helplessly in front of him, he would have been grateful for a chance to kill him.

"Edward," A voice from the hall disrupted his thoughts. Ed looked over to see Hohenheim standing there, a book in his hand. Ed hurried in there and found several books laying on the kitchen table, similar to the one that Hohenheim held in his hand.

'What's all this for?" Ed asked, motioning to the books that covered the poor table, which looked as though it might snap under the pressure.

"Al agreed to clean up the mess, since he cant smell after all. You and I are going to go through these books and figure out an alternative source of energy for Envy. The red stones are pretty much a Homonculi's power source, which is why he is feeling so weak." Hohenheim explained, pushing half of the books towards Ed while he opened up one for himself.

"What is the real reason that you are here?" Ed asked, out of the blue. "Are you here to finish your experiment or because you actually want to help him?" He had been wanting to ask himself the same question for some time now, but he was always frightened of what the answer would be.

"I have never been good at trying to be a father. I abandoned you and Al, just as I abandoned Envy. I guess I'm just trying to make up for all of that." Hohenheim smiled some, imagining how different life would have been if he had stayed with his family, either of them. "What about you?"

"I'm here for Al's sake, nothing more." Ed grumbled, burying his nose in a book. He wouldn't dare mention that he actually wanted so save the cross-dressing homunculus.

Hohnehim nodded, not believing a single word of it. Ed reminded him so much of Envy, even when they were young. They had both been hard headed and were consistently getting in trouble. They even had the same look in their eye when they were babies. He had never meant to name him "Edward," that had been Envy's name. It had just slipped out when he held the child in his arms for the first time. He felt guilty about that ever since, not that Envy necessarily remembered his true name.

After an hour of reading the books, they had not gotten any closer to finding a suitable replacement for the energy given off by the red stones. Every book seemed to either state that the author had no earthly idea how they managed to live or simply stated that a great deal of alchemic power was needed to create the substance they fed on.

"Hey," Ed shut the final book, deciding to his own knowledge instead of someone else's, "If that time element theory is right, Envy might be turning into a human. Why don't we just give him food then?"

Hohnehim sat there for a moment, either stunned that Ed had thought of such an idea or trying to think if it was possible. He nodded slowly, not able to come up with another solution. If it didn't work, Envy would not survive for long, but it was better than just watching him die. "Ed, you look through more of these books, from now on we are only going to focus on time element. If alchemic decomposition turns out to be true, well, there is nothing that we can do and we'll find out soon enough. Once Al finishes cleaning, I want you to go to the store with him and buy more food. We are going to need it if he is going to eat as well."

Ed nodded and went back into the living room, more confused than he had been before. It was hard to think that Envy might be a human, but at the same time he knew that he no longer saw Envy as a monster. All the time he had gone around trying to kill the homunculi because they were different, they were horrible twisted creations, demons of the worst sort. They were not humans, so they were monsters. Now he knew the answer, they were neither. Did that mean that he had been wrong to kill them?

If that was the case, he knew now why he was helping Envy. He had been wrong to kill the others, now he would try and do his part to help the few that were left. Once Envy was healthy, he would find Wrath and make sure that he was safe. The other homunculi were able to take care of themselves, except perhaps for Gluttony, but that was why Lust traveled with him.

"Maybe it isn't something that complicated," Ed muttered to himself, standing over Envy's sleeping form "Maybe I just like helping people or some shit like that."

* * *

I apologize for how short it was, I'm back up to 3 jobs plus school. I wrote it while I was babysitting while the kid was taking a nap, so I didn't have a whole lot of time. I hope you liked it anyway though! 

More imporantly: I have not decided if I want Envy to live or die, so input is welcome. (Also, still havnt decided if it is going to turn yaoi or not. I cant tell if that is a lover's bond forming between them or a brotherly bond...)


	8. Chapter 8

Envy shivered in Ed's arms as the young Alchemist kept Envy in a sitting position. The homunculus swallowed spoonful after spoonful of the hottest soup they could make, but still complained of feeling cold. Ed was at a loss of what to do. Clearly his idea of giving Envy food was not helping. Although Envy was able to sometimes keep it down, it did not seem to help him.

By now, caring for Envy had become a full time job, offering Ed little time for anything else. Hohenheim did the research by himself, not even stopping for food. Al did everything that he could. He cooked, cleaned, even tried to help Ed take care of Envy, but he still felt useless. The more he did, the more he felt like he got in the way. He dedicated himself to taking care of Ed, bringing him food, making sure he got enough sleep, little things like that which Ed always overlooked

Overall, things seemed to be going downhill, but Hohenheim had a sort of forced optimism about him that gave everyone hope. He kept citing text that claimed that there was period of time in the Time Element theory in which the homunculus could no longer get energy from the stones but was not yet human enough to get their energy from food. It was a small gap that left them feeling very weak, but they would get through it. No matter how hard he looked, Ed couldn't find a single book that mentioned the gap. They had never even found a single book that mentioned that feeding a homunculus food might give them energy in place of the stones. The only person who did not participate in the debates was Envy, seeing as how he spent most of his time sleeping.

"Hey," Ed whispered when he noticed that Envy was waking up, "How are you feeling?"

"Still weak" the homunculus muttered, opening his eyes slightly. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Almost a full 24 hours. We were starting to get worried." Ed said in a calm voice, brushing Envy's hair out of his eyes. It nearly killed Ed to see Envy like this, so weak and pathetic. Sometimes he had trouble remembering that Envy had been stronger than him, that he had been able to transform at whim, now he was unable to do a single thing. It was strange, but he almost wished that Envy would jump up and scream that this had all been part of a plan to lull Ed into a false sense of security so that he could gut him in his sleep, anything just so long as Envy was alive.

"Oh…" Envy closed his eyes again. Although he would not admit to it, they all knew that he was in pain. They could see it in the way he moved when he was awake, they could see the pain on his face while he slept, but Envy was just too proud to admit it. "Ed, if this gets much worse…I don't want to…"

"It wont, so don't even talk like that, okay?" Ed tried to change the subject as quick as he could. "I'll go tell Hohenheim that you are awake."

Ed hurried off into the kitchen where Al was sitting, watching Hohenheim eat. It was the closest to a family dinner that this set of miss-matched relatives could manage. He decided right from the start that he wouldn't tell anyone what Envy was about to say, that he wanted Ed to end it for him.

As soon as Ed entered the room, Al and Hohenheim understood that Envy had woken up. It was the only time that Ed ever left his side. They had even made a bed using blankets for Ed to sleep on in Envy's room.

Hohenheim stood up and moved over to the cabinet and pulled out some food that he thought would be easy to digest. He pulled out a can of soup and heated it up using Alchemy. Without a word he handed Ed the can. He knew that every time Envy ate anything Ed was certain that it would work, he hated seeing his son disappointed every time the food came right back up. He didn't know how Ed would handle it if things didn't go well.

Ed reached up and grabbed a bowl, not noticing the look on his father's face. After grabbing a spoon, he ran back into Envy's room. The homunculus was laying in bed still, looking more pale than he had before. Ed set the food down on the nightstand and went to help Envy sit up. He climbed in the bed, having found out the first time that it was easier on both of them for Ed to help him up like that.

As soon as he was seated, Ed took the bowl of soup and put it in Envy's lap. The homunculus looked down at it. He didn't want to eat it, but at the same time he refused to disappoint Ed. He picked up the spoon, pretending not to notice that his hand shook so much that very little soup actually reached his mouth.

"This isn't working." Envy said after three spoonfuls. He meant that eating the soup wasn't working, since most of it fell back into the bowl. Ed took it to mean that the entire idea of feeding Envy was not working, which, in all truth, was not working anyway.

"Don't talk like that, you aren't going to die!" Ed said with such ferocity that Envy jumped some, spilling a little bit of soup onto his lap. He spun around, no longer looking at Envy. He didn't want Envy to know that he was crying. Although before he suspected that Envy would simply laugh at him for crying, something had changed in the cold homunculus. Now he worried that it would upset him.

Envy looked down, unable to even look at Ed. With a deep sigh, he picked up the spoon and began eating more soup. Every swallow hurt and with each attempt less and less soup stayed on the spoon, but he forced himself to take spoonful after spoonful. Ed listened to the clink of spoon hitting bowl behind him, not bothering to wipe the tears from his face. He had had too many people die in front of him, there had been too many people he had not been able to save. He would not let that happen again, not to Envy.

Thank you for all of your reviews, you have helped me decide Envy's fate. As for yaoi…well, as I remember it, there were some people asking me not to make it yaoi. I haven't fully decided on the fate of Ed's sexuality yet.


	9. Chapter 9

"Ed," Hohehneim knocked lightly on the door to Envy's room. Without waiting for an answer, he opened the door and came in. He scanned the room and found Ed next to Envy's bed, slumped over in his chair and half laying on the bed. Envy laid there, absentmindedly stoking Ed's hair. Hohenheim looked down at the ground, more worried about Ed than he was Envy. He had watched his son work himself to exhaustion too many nights, there was no way the young alchemist could keep it up much longer.

"He's been like this for an hour," Envy whispered, not looking away from Ed. "Promise me you'll take care of him."

"Once you get better, you can take care of him yourself." Hohenheim said, moving closer to the pair.

"You don't have to lie to me like you do to Ed and Al." There was no emotion in Envy's voice. He looked up, catching Hohenheim's gaze. There was no life in those purple eyes anymore, he was simply waiting to die.

"Let me get him into his bed, he needs some rest. Sleeping like this will hurt his back." Hohehiem pulled Ed up, into his arms, almost dropping him at the unexpected weight for the automail. Once he was carefully tucked into bed, Hohenheim returned to Envy's side, "You are not as weak as you appear, son, don't forget that."

Envy nodded, closing his eyes and drifting to sleep.

"Come on, Fullmini, is that all you've got?" Envy asked, taking a playful swipe at Ed's face. Ed dodged it and did a back flip to show off. They were outside in front of Winry's house, sparing. The warm sun beat down on the pair of them, birds chirped in the background. Al watched them, sitting under the tree with Den in his lap.

"Face it, you're not going to win!" Ed called out, smiling. He lunged at Envy and the homunculus didn't bother to dodge. Ed rammed into him, sending them both to the ground, Ed laying on top of Envy. They stayed like that for a moment, neither one feeling the need to move. For the first time in many years, Ed was happy.

An odd sound got Ed's attention. It almost sounded like bed springs. In a moment, all of the warmth and sunshine was gone, leaving the world cold and dark. Ed rolled over in his make-shift bed, not opening his eyes. His dreams had been so pleasant that he refused to face reality just yet, but the sound came again. He slowly opened his eyes and sat up in bed, looking around the room and trying to figure out just where the sound had come from.

"So you are alive." He head a voice say from the other side of the room. Ed shot up, on his feet instantly.

"Envy!" he shouted, grinning like an idiot.

The homunculus in question was sitting up in his bed, something that he had been unable to do without help for several weeks. He wore a tired smile on his face, but a smile all the same. He was not as pale as he had been before. His voice was not such a hoarse rasp as it had been.

"Is it working, do you feel better?" Ed asked, at his side now. He couldn't believe it, this had to be another dream sent out by his mind to taunt him. He reached out, touching Envy. He felt real enough, but it was hard to tell anymore.

"Yeah, a little better." Envy smiled some more to prove his point. As he did, two tears rolled down his cheeks, but he ignored them. "I want to go outside for a little bit,"

Ed nodded and reached over, picking Envy up out of the bed. He carried him outside, setting him down on a bench that Al had made using alchemy. He could feel the warmth on his skin, he could hear the birds chirping. Envy just sat there, looking around at the trees for a moment before he turned to Ed. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it. There was something that he wanted to tell Ed, but he just couldn't form the words.

"I was really worried about you," Ed admitted, turning to look at Envy, "I was starting to think you weren't going to make it."

"Yeah, well," Envy chuckled some and looked away. "You took really good care of me."

"What's wrong?" Ed asked, maneuvering so that he could look at Envy's face.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Envy sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm feeling a little hungry, but I don't want soup. Why don't you go into town and get something just for the two of us?"

"Wont you come with me?" Ed asked, putting his hand on Envy's.

"No, I have to stay here." Envy looked away, trying not to let any emotions slip through the cracks in his defense. "You go, and come back soon."

Ed nodded, standing up and walking inside to tell his father where he was going and that Envy was outside. He grabbed some money and left, looking back at Envy as he hurried to get the food. Ed's mind replayed the dream in his head. Maybe someday, that dream would be true. He could take Envy back to Winry's with him. He would join Ed and Al in the quest for the stone, helping him defeat the homunculi. There were so many things they could do once Envy was fully healed.

Back at the house, Hohenheim stepped outside and sat on the bench next to Envy. The homunculus looked up at him, tears in his eyes.

"Did you bring the paper?" Envy asked, his voice weak.

"Yes," Hohenheim pulled out a paper and pencil, "But what is this for?"

"I promised Ed the location of the remains of the other homunculi in exchange for the research. I have to keep up my end of the bargain." He explained, looking back down at the ground.

"I understand," Hohenheim closed his eyes, "You didn't want him to see."

"Too many people he has cared about have died in front of his eyes."

Hohehneim wrote as Envy listed out the locations of the different remains. After he finished, Envy closed his eyes and became very still, never moving again.


End file.
